Cartridge / Tonearm opinions requested...

Bombaywalla:

I definitely take your comments in the right spirit and I appreciate your input (same goes for Twl - your insight regarding analog always seems to be spot on).

What I was referring to was the W-B cartridge which is of Japanese origin - not the arm which I know is of British origin. I don't know who in Japan makes the W-B Analog cartridge (the Carbon is sourced from Benz).

Regarding my choice of arms...I really could not decide between the Moerch or the W-B. I was kidding about the carbon fiber but I actually do prefer the look of the W-B over the Moerch for what that's worth. Of course sonics come first.

As far as the synergy with the Teres and W-B...I spoke with W-B's North American distributor. He was not familiar with the Teres table but considered the Act 2 to be more of a "universal" design than the .5 arm which is specifically designed to work in the Circle table. He didn't suggest their would be any compatibility issues with any particular tt design approach. I've had numerous conversations with Chris Brady regarding arm selection. He didn't seem to feel as though there was as much of a difference among the arm choices as there was from jumping up to the 265 from a 255. I mentioned the Wilson Act 2 arm and he didn't voice any opinion that it would be a bad choice. Perhaps he isn't intimate with it.

I haven't ordered the arm yet so I may wake up tomorrow and decide on the Moerch but this is starting to get to me. I'll have to come up with a definitive answer soon.

Looks like I need to do more detective work and ask more questions...

Thanks!

If you are open to other choices for tonearms, I would strongly suggest the Origin Live tonearms. I use the OL Silver on my Teres, and it is a stunning performer. Personally, I feel pretty strongly about using a gimbal-bearing type tonearm with low compliance cartridges, which you seem to prefer, judging from your list. At the prices you are looking at for WB tonearms, you could get the top line Origin Live Illustrious. Make no mistake, these OL arms are at the top of the heap. They may not get the press that the other top arms get, but it is likely that they will outperform most of the more well known top arms. My OL Silver works beautifully with the Teres, and I have no desire to change to SME, Graham, or anything else. It's a perfect match for a Shelter(which I am using now), or Koetsu, or any other low to mid compliance cartridge. Don't let the lower price scare you away. These are some of the best arms you can buy.

Lasercd,

Glad to note that you have taken the comments in the right spirit.

Re. the W-B arm, I feel that just because Chris Brady didn't say anything negative doesn't mean that it will be a suitable match! From his website, it is quite clear that he has virtually zero experience with it & he is not going to tell a customer not to use it on his 265 'table! Re. the W-B rep. in the USA - you can expect him to use those exact words. That's his job! I would take his words with a grain of salt esp. since there is no other user out there to confirm this.

Your other choice of Moerch DP-6 seems to be much better esp. since it has a proven track record on the Teres. This to me is more important than looks or W-B's carbon fibre technology (which no doubt is very appealing. The engineer in me digs that kind of stuff!).

As an aside (w/o meaning to be an Origin Live salesman!): TWL's recommendation of the Origin Live arms is also 2nd by me. I too have the Silver 250 on my Bluenote 'table with just excellent results. The TA-265, I think, warrants a better arm such as the Illustrious or the Encounter.

IMHO, chose an arm from the "tier 1" list or one of the OL arms & relieve yourself of this mental anguish.

As Twl, and a few others on here know, I recently participated in an audition of several different tables using an OL Illustrious and Shelter 901 (and 501) combo. On a Teres table (and a Nottingham Hyperspace), the OL/Shelter combo was among the best I've ever heard at ANY price. Given that Twl finds the Teres/OL sympatico, I would not hesitate for one second to drop that bad-boy combo into the fray. And then, hold on.

I would have only one nit pick. Phono Stage...

4yanx:

Regarding the phono stage...the Krell KPA has served me well for the past 8 years. It's a very flexible unit but I'm not married to it. As you can seem from my initial post I tend to live with equipment for a long time. Considering the age of the Ariston the Krell was more than adequate. There are lots of great phono stages out there and eventually I'm sure the Krell will find a new home. The arm/cartridge situation is making me neurotic enough - I couldn't even think about a different phono stage right now.

Actually I'm fixing up the Ariston and moving it into my office system. I have an Alphason HR100s sitting in a box just waiting for it and the Shelter 501 is on the way. I'm sure it should breathe new life into an old friend.